Special Education and Learning Disabilities: Teacher Manual K-2
SPECIAL EDUCATION AND LEARNING DISABILITIES
Teacher Manual for K-2
Ned Aiken, Paulina Villarreal, Ana Catalina Varela, Samantha Nellett, María Andonie
03.15.2018
Introduction
As teachers, we will be exposed to many different type of learners and expected to get them to meet CCSS to be prepared for the next grade. We will have many challenging students ahead of us and many in our past. Some of the most challenging students may be the students with an identified disability, but what about the ones who aren’t identified? What can you do as teacher? There are many steps you can try before you recommend a student be evaluated for a disability.
Develop a relationship with the students.
Establish a predictable, consistent, routine that is completed daily.
Break down large tasks into small manageable tasks
Write down instructions with simple words using bullets or numbering using large spacing between steps.
Using an RTI model an intervention tool with documentation that can be used as evidence
If you have tried these strategies consistently for 4-6 weeks consistently and you aren’t seeing a change, it’s time to start gathering data. Start a folder collecting your student of concern’s work and talk with your school’s special education teacher. Your special education teacher can help guide you on what evidence you should gather as a homeroom or specialist teacher. Remember as a homeroom teacher your job is to teach and help gather information, not identify the disability, never diagnose. There are many symptoms you can look for as a teacher for help you gather information for evidence and help you try different interventions. Keep in mind that no child will have all of the symptoms, that many disabilities will have similar symptoms, and that a child may have more than one disability.
Below are descriptions of learning disabilities, symptoms that may be displayed, interventions that can be successful, tracking system for interventions, and resources list.
Emotional disorders
ODD
Oppositional Defiant Disorder is defined as a collection of chronic, negative and hostile behaviors that interferes with a child’s day to day function. These patterns of negativity and defiance need to persist for at least six months. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Video → What Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder?
SYMPTOMS
Frequent temper tantrums
Excessive arguing with adults
Often questioning rules
Active defiance and refusal to comply with adult requests and rules
Deliberate attempts to annoy or upset people
Blaming others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior
Often being touchy or easily annoyed by others
Frequent anger and resentment
Mean and hateful talking when upset
Spiteful attitude and revenge seeking
(American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Interventions/Strategies
● Build a team and maintain a relationship throughout the process.
● Use a behavior modification approach (rewards and punishments must be mutually agreed use privileges as a positive reinforcer)
● Respond in non-oppositional ways (avoid power struggles, be flexible)
● Provide regular reminders of the teacher’s understanding and respect for the student.
● Be consistent (don’t bend rules, consequences should be fair and dispassionately administered)
● Provide opportunities for the student to demonstrate the skills they do well.
● When the schedule changes or a different activity has been scheduled, prepare children with ODD individually.
● Praise positive behaviour both individually and for others to hear.
Tracking Interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal (observation log) or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his/her chart.
Check in and Check out rubrics are a great way to track behavior throughout the day. The student and teacher take time in the day to discuss the student’s behavior. This discussion should help promote self-awareness, self-management, and self confidence.
Technology Tools
Behavior Counter: Helps you keep track of positive and negative behavior. There is some statistical support for data collection, which will allow the person using it to determine triggers for bad behavior and their underlying causes.
Behavior Breakthroughs: The game-based technology of the free Behavior Breakthroughs app allows you to model the child’s behavior back to him or her through a digitized avatar on your mobile device. Seeing his or her own behavior reflected through the avatar can help him or her understand why certain choices are bad ones, encouraging him/her to choose more wisely next time.
Rich Kids – Behavior & Reward Contracts for Child Discipline: Designed to help kids between the ages of three and 15 modify their behavior and learn the importance of making the right choices. This kids app also does double-duty as a money-management teaching aide. Reaching goals within the app allows the child to earn coupons for prizes that motivate good behavior and establishes the basic concept of currency in young children.
Mindfulness for Children: Meditation for Kids: This app offers sleep meditations for children by using understandable language and visualizations to help children let go of their worries and allow their body to rest. When our children are better rested, they are more resilient and patient. They feel less over-stimulated and better able to focus on their school day and activities.
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
ODD A guide for Families by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a chronic brain conditions that affect how people think. OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions that take up at least an hour a day, however, for many people it can take up several hours a day. Obsessions are defined as involuntary intrusive thoughts, images or impulses that cause unbearable worry, fear or discomfort. To cope with the obsessions, the person that suffers from OCD can or may develop processes or actions called compulsions, or rituals. In some cases, rituals can be observable. For example, a child washes his or her hands excessively or checks locks for extensive periods of time. In other cases, compulsions may be completed mentally and cannot be detected by an outside observer, for example the child is saying a prayer mentally over and over again to prevent something terrible from happening. These repetitive, ritualistic acts make a child feel better, but the relief is only temporary. (OCD in Children, Beyond OCD)
Children sometimes describe their obsessions as “bad thoughts”, fears or worries. And in some cases, they have a very hard time describing or putting into words what it is that is bothering them.
Video → Unstuck: An OCD kids movie
SYMPTOMS OF OBSESSIVE THOUGHTS
Excessive preoccupation with germs, dirt and/or illness.
Expresses repeated doubts
Intrusive thoughts about a parent, or someone they love getting hurt
Excessive preoccupation with symmetry, order, and exactness
Excessive drive to know or remember facts that seem very trivial
Unreasonable attention to detail
Excessive worry about something bad happening (like a car accident, burglary, natural disaster)
Aggressive thoughts and urges (may be more likely in teens)
SYMPTOMS OF COMPULSIVE BEHAVIORS
Washing hands excessively, frequently over 100 times a day
Repeated checking and rechecking to ensure stove is turned off or door is locked
Rigidly follows self-imposed rules of order like arranging personal items in room in a particular way and becoming very upset if someone disrupts the arrangement
Excessive counting and recounting
Preoccupation with sequencing or grouping objects
Repeatedly and excessively asking the same questions
Repeating words spoken by self or others
Repeating sounds, words, numbers, or music to him or herself.
Interventions/Strategies
Cognitive behavior therapy is strongly recommended for children with OCD.
At school some strategies we can implement are:
● Maintain a home-school communication system and involve parents.
● Collaborate with mental health professionals
● Develop an Individual Education Plan (IEP) based on the students’ current needs
● Gather data: academic screening tools, rating scales & observations
● Have short-term goals
● Negotiate reasonable expectations on assignments and behaviors
● Provide a safe place for the student where he or she can go to destress.
● Implement temporary accommodations like extended time on tests and assignments, alternate formats, choice, and
● Monitor and chart progress: changes in behaviour & academic outcome
● Praise student and celebrate success
Tracking Interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal (observation log) or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his chart.
Technology Tools
Live OCD Free :helps children and adults gradually face their fears by creating a series of exercises or challenges to practice on their electronic devices. These exercises empowers users to resist the urge to give in to compulsions, tackle excessive or intrusive thoughts in a manageable way, and reduce anxiety.
Mindfulness for Children: Meditation for Kids: This app offers sleep meditations for children by using understandable language and visualizations to help children let go of their worries and allow their body to rest. When our children are better rested, they are more resilient and patient. They feel less over-stimulated and better able to focus on their school day and activities.
USEFUL RESOURCES
OCD in Children by Healthy Place
Identifying and Supporting students with OCD by Juliana Negreiros
Conduct Disorder
Conduct disorder is a severe, chronic and pathologically driven antisocial behavior. Children and adolescents with this disorder have great difficulty following rules and behaving in a socially acceptable way. (Sousa, 2012)
Video → The Neuropsychology of Conduct Disorder in Children
SYMPTOMS
Aggression to people and/or animals
Consistently hurtful towards peers (hits, verbally intimidates)
Destruction of property
Deceitfulness
Refusal to follow instructions/ Challenges authority
Unwillingness to participate in normal social activities
Interventions/Strategies
● Provide him/her with choices, but the choices will be provided by you, the teacher. (Choices with limits)
● Avoid losing your temper. Maintain a calm and low voice
● A structured environment with extremely consistent rules is a must.
● Make sure the classroom rules are clear and well understood. Be clear about what is not negotiable.
● Watch for transition and other "down" times. Try to keep this student fully occupied.
● Break instruction into manageable chunks with breaks in between. The breaks should be "busy breaks" that involve a change of activity but keep the student busy.
● Avoid timed tests and assignments. Allow student to resubmit assignments to improve his/her mark.
● Do not allow this child to manipulate you into a debate. This puts you in a position of reacting to the student and places the student in control. If the students asks why he or she has to do it, the easiest response is often to simply repeat the instruction, ignoring the "why" question altogether.
● Don't raise your voice with this student, keep a low, slow and calm voice.
Tracking Interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal (observation log) or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his chart.
Technology Tools
Behavior Counter: Helps you keep track of positive and negative behavior. There is some statistical support for data collection, which will allow the person using it to determine triggers for bad behavior and their underlying causes.
Behavior Breakthroughs: The game-based technology of the free Behavior Breakthroughs app allows you to model the child’s behavior back to him or her through a digitized avatar on your mobile device. Seeing his or her own behavior reflected through the avatar can help him or her understand why certain choices are bad ones, encouraging him/her to choose more wisely next time.
Rich Kids – Behavior & Reward Contracts for Child Discipline: Designed to help kids between the ages of three and 15 modify their behavior and learn the importance of making the right choices. This kids app also does double-duty as a money-management teaching aide. Reaching goals within the app allows the child to earn coupons for prizes that motivate good behavior and establishes the basic concept of currency in young children.
Mindfulness for Children: Meditation for Kids: This app offers sleep meditations for children by using understandable language and visualizations to help children let go of their worries and allow their body to rest. When our children are better rested, they are more resilient and patient. They feel less over-stimulated and better able to focus on their school day and activities.
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the development of certain symptoms that follow a direct or indirect event in which a child was exposed to a traumatic, terrifying event in which physical harm was threatened, seen, or experienced. PTSD can be the result of one traumatic event, or as a result of ongoing traumatic events, and may occur after an unexpected or violent death or injury to a loved one. While many people experience traumatic events in their lifetime, not all of them will go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. (American Psychiatric Association)
Video → Post traumatic Stress disorder in Children and Teens
SYMPTOMS
Reckless behaviors
Complaints of headaches and stomach aches
Regression
Difficulties with physical contact
Loss of interest in previously-enjoyed activities
Feeling as if the event is happening all over again
Angry outbursts
Feeling as though the trauma is happening again
Irritability
Trouble concentrating in school
Sleep disturbances
Negative cognitive development
Jumbled, out of order recollection of the event
Fears about death
Dissociation
Worry, guilt and sadness
Emotional numbing
Low self-esteem
Avoidance of situations that trigger memories
Inability to trust others
Intrusive memories of the event
Nightmares and night terrors
Interventions/Strategies
● Restore and build connection with the student. This promotes stability, recovery and predictability in the student’s lives.
● Model calm and optimistic behavior. Maintain level emotions and reactions with students to help them achieve balance.
● Model good stress management and problem solving skills. Help students to cope with day-to-day challenges by thinking aloud with them about ways they can solve their problems.
● Pay attention to possible triggers that indicate emotions are escalating and engage them before a meltdown occurs.
● Understand the relationship between emotions and behavior.
● Recognize you can change and influence a child’s emotional state.
● Provide opportunities for personal control and decision making.
● Provide opportunities for students to ask for a break.
● Offer predictability through routines, rituals and reviews.
● Create motivational support systems.
Tracking Intervention
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal (observation log) or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his or her chart.
Technology Tools
PTSD Coach: This app will educate about PTSD and provide tools to help manage symptoms and stress.
What’s up: Using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy, this app will help you cope with depression, anxiety, anger, stress and more.
Mindfulness for Children: Meditation for Kids: This app offers sleep meditations for children by using understandable language and visualizations to help children let go of their worries and allow their body to rest. When our children are better rested, they are more resilient and patient. They feel less over-stimulated and better able to focus on their school day and activities.
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
Responding to Students with PTSD in Schools
Depression
Depression is a common mental disorder that causes people to experience depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration (Mental Health, 2018)
Research suggests that people with learning disabilities are more likely than the general population to experience a mental health issue such as depression. Factors such as fewer psychological and material resources to deal with adversity and lack of meaningful activities in their lives can increase the chances of people with learning disabilities developing depression (Feeling Down improving the mental health of people with learning disabilities, 2013).
Video → Depression: A Student’s Perspective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOx0Q273AsQ
SYMPTOMS
Tiredness and loss of energy
Loss of appetite
Sadness that doesn’t go away
Physical aches and pains
Loss of self-confidence and self-esteem
Thinking about suicide and death
Difficulty concentrating
Self-harm
Not being able to enjoy pleasurable things
Very strong feelings of guilt or worthlessness
Feeling anxious all the time
Feeling it hard to function at work or school
Avoiding other people, even close friends
Sleeping problems
Helplessness and hopelessness
Anger, irritability and frustration
(Mental Health, 2018)
Interventions/Strategies
● Know that the brain can and will change with appropriate interventions
● Build a team and make a plan so everyone is on the same page
● Build operating system
○ Building affiliation skills,
○ Reward evaluation
○ Capacity to manage emotional states
● Maintain a positive relationship
● Be positive and patient
● Seek support (psychologist or counselor)
● Incorporate physical activity
● Teach coping skills
○ Teach them to think positively about themselves and their surroundings
● Teach goal settings
○ Short term goals are good to gain confidence more quickly
● Provide nutritional support
○ Good nutrition contributes to good brain chemistry.
● Encourage lifestyle changes
○ Change routines
○ Limit internet and TV
○ Join clubs with positive missions
○ Provide stimulating activities(Jensen, 2010)
Tracking Interventions
If there interventions were useful, students will be able to show the following:
● Changes in attitude and overall well being
● Improved social skills
● Feeling more energized
● Motivated to learn
● Curious to try new things
Keeping track of the interventions will help you as a teacher and the student to develop new ways to help in case interventions are not being effective. Remember there is always a support group that is willing to help and support you in the process.
Technology Tools
● Happier - Happier is a social networking app that provides a platform for users to share experiences from their daily lives. The app’s mantra is that sharing and reflecting on at least three positive occurrences from everyday life can go a long way to improving moods over time. Users are encouraged to share any and all uplifting, satisfying, and happy moments from their day. Reflecting on their own small victories, as well as browsing the uplifting moments of friends and family throughout the day can go a long way to helping kids cope with depression.
● Cheers - an uplifting social networking alternative to Happier. This app follows the same basic premise, allowing users to post favorite, uplifting, and happy moments from throughout their day. Users may also create “Celebrations” which allows friends, family, and other members of the Cheers community to add their own events pertaining to a specific category. Posts can be annotated with locations, captions, pictures, and videos. This can be an excellent app for helping your child to practice Self-Awareness and actively recognizing happy moments throughout the day.
(Learning Works for Kids, 2013)
USEFUL RESOURCES
Depression and Learning Disabilities. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/learning-disabilities/a-to-z/d/depression-and-learning-disability
Judith Trust, 2012. Depression in CYP with LD http://www.judithtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Depression-in-CYP-with-LD.pdf)
Jensen, Eric (2010). Different Brains, Different Learners. The Troubled Learner.
(Learning Works for Kids, 2013) Great apps to help kids cope with depression. http://learningworksforkids.com/2013/08/great-apps-to-help-kids-cope-with-depression/
Bipolar
Bipolar disorder (formerly called manic depressive illness) is a brain illness that cause extreme changes in a person’s mood, energy, thinking, and behavior. Bipolar disorder can cause dramatic mood swings. Children with bipolar disorder have periods (or episodes) of mania and depression. There are often periods of normal moods in between these episodes.
Bipolar disorder can have many effects on a student in the classroom. Symptoms of both depression and mania can interfere with learning and make it difficult for the student to pay attention, stay on task, remain focused, and maintain motivation. In addition, cognitive effects may be seen in multiple areas including executive functioning, memory, and organizational skills. Bipolar disorder can also affect the child's ability to correctly process facial expressions and the emotional meaning of language. This can cause conflict with peers and staff, making social interaction a challenge.
Video → Bipolar Disorder (maybe)
SYMPTOMS (MANIC EPISODE)
Exaggerated self-esteem or grandiosity
Less need for sleep
Talking more than usual, talking loudly and quickly
Easily distracted
Doing many activities at once
Increased risky behavior
Quickly changing ideas or topics
SYMPTOMS (DEPRESSIVE EPISODE)
Intense sadness or despair
Loss of energy, fatigue
Feeling helpless, hopeless or worthless
Difficulty concentrating
Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed
Frequent thoughts of death or suicide
Feeling worthless or guilty
Changes in appetite (increase or decrease)
Sleep problems (Too little or too much)
Increased risky behavior.
Interventions/Strategies
● Create a relationship of trust and understanding with the student. He or she needs to feel supported.
● Maintain communication with school administratives, counselor, psychologist and parents. (Build a team)
● Minimize visual and auditory stimuli
● Preferential seating
● Reinforce self-esteem
● Provide and emergency pass and a safe place to go when emotionally distressed
● Allow movement and breaks
● Having a second set of books at home
● Extended time on testing
● Reduced work during times of in stability
● Having a reduced classroom size
● Limiting sensory input such as noise and light.
Tracking Interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal (observation log) or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his chart. Keep constant communication with parents and school staff.
Technology Tools
The following apps can be downloaded to any tablet or phone and will help your child with the following:
Any.do: Any.do is an app that helps those who get lost in options and details. Set up a to-do list and program the app to send reminders.
USEFUL RESOURCES
http://www.bpchildren.com/teachers
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are irregular eating habits like unhealthful reduction of food intake, severe overeating and severe concern about body weight or shape. Eating disorders may include inadequate or excessive food intake, which can have serious consequences in a person’s well-being. The most common forms of eating disorders include Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.
A person suffering from Anorexia Nervosa will typically have an obsessive fear of gaining weight, and a refusal to maintain a healthy body weight. In addition, they have an unrealistic perception of their body image. Bulimia is characterized by repeated binge eating followed by behaviors that compensate for the overeating, such as forced vomiting, excessive exercise, or extreme use of laxatives or diuretics.
Eating disorders are more common in teenagers rather than in children, but they still can occur.
Video → What are eating disorders in Children?
SYMPTOMS (ANOREXIA NERVOSA)
Extremely restricted eating
Extreme thinness (emaciation)
A relentless pursuit of thinness
Unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy weight
Intense fear of gaining weight
Distorted body image,
Self-esteem that is heavily influenced by perceptions of body weight and shape
SYMPTOMS (BULIMIA NERVOSA)
Eating unusually large amounts of food in a specific amount of time
Eating even when you're full or not hungry
Eating fast during binge episodes
Eating until you're uncomfortably full
Eating alone or in secret to avoid embarrassment
Feeling distressed, ashamed, or guilty about eating
Frequently dieting, possibly without weight loss
Interventions
● Maintain professional boundaries
● Seek professional help with counselor or psychologist
● Notify family and other responsible adults about observations
● Try to use ‘I’ statements (e.g. ‘I care about you,’ ‘I’m worried about you’)
● Help them to feel it is safe to talk to you
● Ask them how they feel
● Give them time to talk about their feelings
● Listen respectfully to what they have to say
● Encourage them to seek help
Some things to avoid:
● Avoid putting the focus on food - try talking about how the person is feeling instead
● Do not use blame (e.g. instead of ‘You are making me worried’ try ‘I am worried about you’)
● Avoid taking on the role of a therapist - you do not need to have all the answers, rather it is most important to listen and create a space for them to talk
● Steer clear of manipulative statements (e.g. ‘Think about what you are doing to me...’)
Tracking Interventions
A good way to keep track of the intervention is to ask the student to keep a journal to write down everything he/she feels along the process. This will be easier to work with, as it will provide an inside point of view of what the student is feeling. If there are any signs of increased symptoms, it is important to call for professional help.
Technology Tools
● Kissy - a blog and app, while recovering from an eating disorder to motivate and support other teens seeking recovery. The free app for iPhones and Androids offers weekly appreciation tasks and “butterflies” as rewards, as well as motivational quotes, videos, and songs.
Eating Disorder Hope (2018)
USEFUL RESOURCES
Eating Disorder Hope (2018). Apps that can help you support your child’s recovery. yourhttps://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/apps-that-can-help-you-support-your-childs-recovery
National Eating Disorders Collaboration (2016). Eating Disorders in Schools: Prevention, Early Identification and Response. http://www.nedc.com.au/files/Resources/Teachers%20Resource.pdf
Learned Helplessness
Learned Helplessness is defined as a failure to avoid or escape an unpleasant or aversive stimulus that occurs as a result of previous exposure to unavoidable painful stimuli. It is a behavioral condition that is characterized by apathy, lack of motivation, and helplessness in the face of normal, everyday problems and challenges.
People that have Learned Helplessness feel chronically powerless over a situation or believing a negative outcome will occur independent of one’s response. Learned Helplessness can be confused with people who are “lazy”. It is not genetic, but learned. The good thing is that it can be unlearned!
Video → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZMyUXgVDKg
SYMPTOMS
Apathy and inertia
Diminished response initiation (unresponsive to shocking events)
Perceived lack of control over circumstances
Lack of assertiveness
Lack of motivation
Statements of powerlessness
Cognition problems
Loss of appetite and weight
Lethargy
Unwillingness to socialize
(Jensen, 2010)
Interventions
● Engage positive states
○ Teach in a more motivated way
○ Be enthusiastic
● Give children responsibilities to empower them
○ Taking care of music
○ Submitting test questions
○ Doing class chores
● Encourage them to:
○ Walk, run, cycle, swim
○ Learning better about nutrition
○ Take naps and sleep well
○ Service work
○ Pleasure reading
○ Busy work/chores
● Provide enrichment → Teach them with relativity to real world
Tracking Interventions
After the interventions for Learned Helplessness, students will develop the following:
● Increased motivation
● Quicker responses to pleasurable stimuli
● Finding purpose for activities
● Increased social skills
● Better cognition
● Increased appetite
● Attentive during class
Technology Tools
The following apps can be downloaded to any tablet or phone and will help your child with the following:
● Headspace for Kids - Mindfulness app for kids which helps improve self-esteem, reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
● Sworkit Kids - Fitness made fun! Working out will help rewire the brain and improve health, as well as boost endorphins in the body.
USEFUL RESOURCES
Jensen, Eric (2010). Different Brains, Different Learners. The Troubled Learner.
Attention Disabilities
ADHD and ADD
ADHD is a highly genetic, brain-based syndrome that has to do with the regulation of a particular set of brain functions and related behaviors. It interferes with an individual’s ability to focus (inattention), regulate activity level (hyperactivity), and inhibit behavior (impulsivity).
These brain operations are collectively referred to as “executive functioning skills” and include important functions such as attention, concentration, memory, motivation and effort, learning from mistakes, impulsivity, hyperactivity, organization, and social skills. There are various contributing factors that play a role in these challenges including chemical and structural differences in the brain as well as genetics.
ADHD affects five percent of youths from ages 9-17, and there is a 3:1 ratio that boys are diagnosed more than girls. These symptoms mostly become present before 7 years old, and usually last more than 6 months.
On the other hand, ADD are individuals who have no trouble sitting still or inhibiting their behavior, but are as inattentive and unfocused as the individuals with ADHD.
What is the difference between ADHD and ADD?
ADHD
ADD
Primary indicators
Persistent problems with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity
Low brain energy leads to difficulty with attention; seems not to listen, unorganized, forgetful in the short-term, makes careless mistakes, has problems following instructions
Decision Making
Impulsive, race from task to task
Sluggish
Attention Seeking
Shows off. Egotistical. Relishes in being the worst. Intolerant and can become abusive. Manipulative. Needs instant gratification. Constantly frustrated
Modest, shy. Often socially withdrawn. Conversation is difficult. Does not need instant gratification. Becomes impatient only after repeated attempts to complete task.
Recognizing Boundaries
Intrusive. Occasionally rebellious.
Honors Boundaries, usually polite and obedient.
Associated Diagnoses
Oppositional Defiant Conduct Disorder
Depression
Positive Attributes
These individuals really do well those things they know they can do.
Willing to pursue areas others are afraid to try. Can do well if self-employed.
Video → “A child’s Perspective of ADHD”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WddfBzE1AuU
SYMPTOMS
Rushing into tasks but not finishing them
Weak at following directions
Demanding attention from adults
Late for time commitments
Inability to delay gratification
Poorly organized
Doesn’t sit still
Poor concentration
Feeling disorganized, lost and “dumb”
Inability to plan ahead
Aggression and defiance
Makes same mistakes over and over
Poor short-term memory
Hit or grab first, then realize it
Blurt out inappropriate comments
Little or no patience
(Sousa, 2016)
Interventions
● Specific Strategies for short-term memory issues
○ Repeat instructions if necessary
○ Break tasks into small units
○ Set realistic deadlines
○ Make lists of what you need to do
○ Provide visual aids
○ Stick to your routines
● Specific strategies with organizational skills
○ Usa a calendar or planner
○ Write down things you need to remember
○ Store similar things together
○ Establish an organized routine to clean cubby or pencil box
● Avoid threats
● Provide external motivators
○ Point system
○ Star chart
○ Extra recognition
○ Responsibilities
○ Privileges
● Incorporate more movement
○ Hands on activities
○ Vary the types of sitting
○ Use signals to let them know when they can go for a walk or take a break
● Increase feedback
● Functionalize classroom space
○ Listen to soothing music
○ Cozy student office
○ Reading corner
○ Bean bags
● Involve the whole class
(Jensen, 2010)
Tracking Interventions
A student with ADHD or ADD will need you to be persistent with specific interventions. A behavior or star chart will always be a positive reinforcer and motivate the student to continue working on no more than 3 specific behaviors. This way, the teacher and the student keep track of their improvements and the student benefits from a final small prize.
Another way to keep track of your interventions is by observing how the student behaves during lessons as you allow him to move more freely. His attention will appear to be elsewhere, but by allowing him to move freely, you actually allow him to focus on you.
Technology Tools
● Headspace for Kids - Mindfulness app for kids which helps improve self-esteem, reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
● GoNoodle - Website that provides short videos that include movement, dancing, singing, stretching, focusing and resting. A well-rounded app to help students with ADHD have a brain break and continue focusing on work. https://www.gonoodle.com/
USEFUL RESOURCES
Jensen, Eric (2010). Different Brains, Different Learners. The Impulsive Learner.
Sousa, D. (2016) How the Special Needs Brain Learns. Attention Disorders.
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder represents the behavioral manifestation of an underlying dysfunction in the central nervous system. Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by a deficit in social interaction and communication, and restrictive repetitive behaviors, interests and patterns.
Four previously separate development disorders are now classified as Autism Spectrum Disorder. These include (1) Classic Autism, (2) Asperger Syndrome, (3) Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and (4) Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (Sousa, 2016).
PDD
PDD stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Individuals affected by this disorder are characterized by impaired communication and interaction, repetitive behaviors and cognitive impairment. Developmental disorders are manifested before the age of 22 (in this case at about age 3) and persist indefinitely.
Video → PDD Using Visuals to Teach Autistic Students
SYMPTOMS
Rare eye contact
Extreme passivity or extreme distress reactions
Extreme passivity or extreme distress reactions
Decreased expression of positive affect
Delayed expressive and receptive language
Lack of social smiling
Sensory difficulties
Restrictive Repetitive behaviors
Appropriate interventions/strategies
People with ASD are very visual and usually have trouble with spoken language, so it is recommended that you accompany your interventions with visual aids.
● Create a booklet with the student using his picture on each page and placing images of what is acceptable and not acceptable on each place.
● Encourage them to use tools for self control (breathing, drawing, etc.)
● Anticipate → Provide likely scenarios of any changes (Tomorrow the day will be different, you will not go to music class, it will still be fun and safe)
● Help in specific delayed areas
● Have a strategy ready in case student cannot cope because of overstimulation or confusion
● Concentrate on changing unacceptable behaviors rather than worrying about those that are simply odd
● Avoid doing for them what they can do for themselves
● Break tasks into manageable segments
● Use larger print on paper, include only a few items on each page
● Assign activities related to student’s interests
● Give them space
Tracking Interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his chart.
Technology Tools
One common symptom of autism is a difficulty in speaking or an inability to speak. Proloquo2Go is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app that teaches children how to construct sentences using symbols and pictures.
TouchChat HD is another AAC app, which uses pictograms to help individuals construct sentences.
Another issue facing children with autism is that they require a clear, set schedule to help prevent them from acting out as a result of something unexpected. First Then Visual Schedule HD lets you create a pictogram-based schedule, with a timer for each event, that the child can then check off as each task is completed.
Kid In Story places the child as the main character in one of several stories, helping him or her to understand appropriate social behaviors. Using the iPad's camera, you can superimpose your child into the tale, and then use your voice to narrate the story.
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, by Veronica Cysk and Ellen Notbohm
Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic, by Donna Williams
Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew, by Ellen Notbohm
The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism, by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron
www. autismspeaks.org
Asperger Syndrome
The previously called Asperger’s Syndrome, is now recognized as High Functioning ASD. Individuals affected by this disorder usually have average or above average cognitive skills, and are prone to exhibit a procacios vocabulary. However, they display problems with abstract thinking, do not understand the logic of classroom instruction and are easily distracted (Sousa, 2016). Compared with other more severe types of Autism, those with Asperger Syndrome have no clinically significant delay in language and cognitive development of age-appropriate self-help skills, or adaptive behavior.
Video → A little Misunderstanding, by Fernando Lopez
SYMPTOMS
Robotic or repetitive speech
Limited/inappropriate social interactions
Challenges with nonverbal communication
Inability to understand non literal use of language (metaphors, sarcasm)
Inability to understand social and emotional issues
Lack of eye contact
Awkward movements (Web page: autismspeaks.org)
Appropriate interventions/strategies
People with ASD are very visual and usually have trouble with spoken language, so it is recommended that you accompany your interventions with visual aids..
● ABA - Applied Behavior Analysis, consists of breaking down the learning into very basic components, and rewarding students for each positive step
● Help in specific delayed areas
● Curriculum should be adapted to the individual child’s needs
● Predictable environment and routines (always prepare them for change
● Have a strategy ready in case student cannot cope because of overstimulation or confusion
● Concentrate on changing unacceptable behaviors rather than worrying about those that are simply odd
● Avoid doing for them what they can do for themselves
● Break tasks into manageable segments
● Model actions
● Use larger print on paper, include only a few items on each page
● Assign activities related to student’s interests
● Give them space
(Sousa, 2016)
Tracking interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his/her chart.
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, by Veronica Cysk and Ellen Notbohm
Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic, by Donna Williams
Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew, by Ellen Notbohm
The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism, by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron
www. autismspeaks.org
Reading Disabilities
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. (International Dyslexia Association, 2018)
There are many subtypes of dyslexia.
● Visual dyslexia (dyseidetic) Orthographic processing: they way words work, letter patterns, where the words are looking from the cortex
● Auditory or dysphonic dyslexia: difficulty sounding out words phonological awareness, rhyme, phonemic awareness
● Mixed dyslexia or dysphonieidsai: both types difficult reading and spelling using phonics and sight word recall, slight chance of reading on grade level
● Dyslexia reader: shows a fault in the system, under-activation of the neural pathways in the occipital lobe, trouble analyzing words, trouble with patterns.
Video → Color coding spelling and picture clues
This video is an example of one intervention that can be used for a student with visual dyslexia. This may not be successful or appropriate with all students with a diagnosis of dyslexia.
SYMPTOMS
Difficulty recognizing written words
Difficulty rhyming or sequencing syllables
Difficulty determining the meaning or main idea of a simple sentences
Poor sequencing
Difficulty sustaining attention
May complain of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading
Spells phonetically and inconsistently
Multisensory learning
Interventions/Strategies
Remember to pick one intervention and try it several times before determining to stay with it longer or switch to a different intervention.
● Simplify written directions
● Highlight
● Block out external stimuli
● Explicit directions/repeat directions
● Provide or make a graphic organizer
● Step by step instruction
● Provide visual and verbal information
● Write key points on a board
● Balance presentation and activities
● Mnemonic instruction
● Emphasize daily review
● Design hierarchical worksheets
● Change response mode
● Reading books of their interest
● Provide phonemic-awareness testing for all students
Tracking interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his/her chart.
Technology tool
● APP → Leo Recording and Transcription
● Audio books
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
Beyond Dyslexia, by Dorothy Van Den Honert
Dyslexia: Practical and Easy-to-Follow Advice, by Robin Temple
Reversals: A Personal Account of Victory Over Dyslexia, by Eileen M. Simpson
Bright Solutions for Dyslexia: www.dys-add.com
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia, also known as agraphia, is a spectrum disorder describing major difficulties in mastering the sequence of movements necessary to write letters and numbers.
*It is important to note that it is developmentally appropriate for a child before the age of 8 to 9 to reverse letters, to struggle with their pencil grip, self-talk during writing, and writing be illegible or show some of the symptoms of dysgraphia.
Video → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vUjtY84VkU
This is a video of a student and teacher working together to help write sentences off the board. The student in the video is showing symptoms of dysgraphia.
SYMPTOMS
Inconsistencies in letter formation; mixture of upper and lower cases of print
Slow copying or writing
Unfinished words or letters
Omitted words in writing
Generally illegible writing (despite time given to the task)
Inconsistent spaces between letters and words
Talking to self while writing
Struggles to use writing as a communication tool
Watching hand while writing
Struggle to use writing as a communication tool
Inconsistent position page with respect to margins and lines
Cramped or unusual grip on pencil
Interventions/Strategies
● Creating a graphic organizer
● Voice recording device, iPad and Phone
● Practice handwriting sheet
● Allowing use of technology
● Use visual aids, like a drawing or a picture
● Positive encouragement
● Confidence boosting activities in writing
● Making letters concrete using clay or playdough
Tracking interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his/her chart.
Technology tool
● APP → Leo Recording and Transcription
● Audio books
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
Uderstanding Dysgraphia: www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/understanding-dysgraphia
Understanding Dysgraphia: https://dyslexiaida.org/understanding-dysgraphia/
Math Disabilities
About 6-8 percent of school-age children experience serious difficulty processing mathematics. The condition that causes persistent problems with processing numerical calculations is called dyscalculia.
Dyscalculia is a difficulty in conceptualizing numbers, number relationships, outcomes of numerical operations, and estimation.
Video→ Dyscalculia
SYMPTOMS
Inconsistent results with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
Inability to remember mathematical formulas, rules, or concepts
Difficulty with abstract concepts of time and direction
Consistent errors when recalling numbers, including transpositions, omissions, and reversals
Difficulty remembering how to keep score during games
Interventions/Strategies
● Help students develop conceptual understanding and skills
● Consider giving more oral and fewer written tests
● Develop meaningful (relevant) practice exercises
● Maintain reasonable expectations
● Build on children’s strengths
● Use manipulatives appropriately
● Help students make connections
● Determine and build on a student’s informal learning strategies
● Accommodate individual learning preferences as much as is practicable
● Use technology appropriately
Tracking interventions
Educators should track the effectiveness of interventions through a variety of diagnostic tools. Specific diagnostic tools can track success in ability to follow sequential directions, recognize patterns, estimate quantities, visualize and manipulate mental pictures, sense of spatial organization and orientation, ability to do deductive and inductive reasoning. Performing pre-intervention and post-intervention diagnostics will provide a picture of effectiveness. In addition, anecdotal notes to track emotional responses during math work as well as successes and problems.
Technology Tools
There are several technological tools that are designed for students struggling with math, and for students particularly suffering from Dyscalculia. These include but are not limited to the following:
Electronic math worksheets: are software programs that can help a user organize, align, and work through math problems on a computer screen. Numbers that appear on screen can also be read aloud via a speech synthesizer. This may be helpful to people who have trouble aligning math problems with pencil and paper.
Products to consider
● MathTalk
Talking Calculators: A talking calculator has a built-in speech synthesizer that reads aloud each number, symbol, or operation key a user presses; it also vocalizes the answer to the problem. This auditory feedback may help him check the accuracy of the keys he presses and verify the answer before he transfers it to paper.
Products to consider
● Independent Living Aids (various talking calculators)
● MaxiAids (various talking calculators)
● AbleData (various talking calculators)
USEFUL RESOURCES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNgNKkLwYvw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdzlTyknaH8
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
Learning Delays
Learning delays is defined as a child who fails to meet the usual developmental milestones typical of his or her age. This is not one disorder, but multiple disorder. Students with LD struggle with reading, writing, math, speech, language, memory, and other basic skills.
LD can stem from blows to the head, fetal alcohol exposure, neglect, prenatal drug exposure, environment toxins, and inadequate care.
*It is important to to note that that students displaying LD symptoms can catch up due to the brain’s plasticity in a stimulating rich environment.
*The category Learning Delays in some texts is called Developmental Delays.
Video→ The video is an example of a girl who has Fetal Alcoholism Syndrome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTGWdcWjuZ8
SYMPTOMS
Inconsistent performance
Pragmatic deficiencies in language usage
Often misses the big picture
Very Concrete and literal
Slowed problem solving
Poor nonverbal communication
Weak at cause and effect
Physical awkwardness and incoordination
Might understand even memorize rules, but no idea how or when they apply
Difficulty learning to catch and kick a ball, dance, hop, skip
Impaired perception
Possibly impaired fine motor skills
Difficulty in generalizing information
Handwriting may be poor and/or laborious
Poor short term memory
Poor problem solving skills
Common visual spatial deficits severe enough to affect academic performances such as written mathematics
General difficulty with reading comprehension by age 10
Wear cognition
Slowed abstract reasoning
Interventions/Strategies
● Allow mistakes
● Provide high level of structures and consistency; routines which are predictable
● Break down large tasks into smaller staks
● Keep instructions brief and simple; assign less learning styles and intelligences
● Give cutdowns of when an activity is ending “5 minutes, 1 minute…”
● Give plenty of prompting teacher prompting, written reminders, partner sharings and outlines
● Create predictable daily events/activities to make learning fun
● Affirm progress and reevaluate goals on a regular basis
● Individual seating or seating away from other students during individual practice time
● Use of manipulatives to take abstract concepts to concrete
● Change the format of assessment: writing assessment to pictorial with an oral explanation
● Use visuals to explain content
● Use visual cues such as schedules or for instructional steps
● Provide adequate wait time
Tracking Interventions
It is recommended to keep track of the implemented interventions and note if they worked or didn’t work. This will aid in planning adequately for the student, and will also be useful for other people involved in the student's learning such as their future teachers.
Some simple tools that may be useful for this purpose are: Keeping a journal or creating a chart describing the intervention and the behavior that resulted from it. Using an online tool such as google docs or google sheets is another easy tracking tool that multiple teachers, specialist can view and add too.
In some cases it is useful to create a tracking tool that the student can see and follow. For this purpose, charts with visual aids such as images and color coded stickers are a good idea. Provide rewards once the student completes a certain goal in his/her chart.
Technology Tools
Various assistive technologies can be used to practice and develop a wide array of language and speech difficulties. These could include, but are not limited to the following:
TextAloud 3: This is a text to speech software that can take your word documents, emails. etc and it speaks the documents on the computer or a portable device and they also have an app for IOS.
Communication Board: This device uses pictures, symbols, or printed words for communication. these board are a flat display of words and pictures but could also be used with touch screen and speech can be added.
textHELP: This software is designed for children seven and up and is a floating toolbar that provides tools for reading, writing. the software is windows based . it reads back to the student what they wrote and spell check highlights word(s) that need to be corrected also includes built in dictionary, thesaurus and calculator
website: texthelp.com
Assistive Technology Video
References
http://www.techpotential.net/
USEFUL RESOURCES
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen
Teaching Students with Disabilities
Speech and Language Disabilities
Speech and language disorders occur when the natural acquisition of language is inhibited in one of many possible ways. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5, 2013) has arranged speech disorders into several sub-categories, which can be characterized by the following symptoms:
DISORDER
SYMPTOMS
Language Disorders
• Complexity of speech not developing with age
• Little or no growth in vocabulary
• Consistently poor grammar with little or no improvement
• Difficulty remembering recently used words
Speech-sound disorder
• Certain sounds are omitted or deleted
• One or more sounds are added to a word
• One or more sounds are substituted in a word
• Errors in rhythm, intonation, stress, and intensity
• Sounds are distorted
Expressive Language Disorder
• Below average vocabulary skills
• Difficulty producing complex sentences and having a conversation
• Improper use of correct tenses
• Problems in recalling words
Receptive-expressive Language Disorder
• Impairment in language comprehension
• Impairment in language expression
• Speech containing many articulation errors
• Difficulty recalling early visual or auditory memories
Adolescent Language Difficulties
• Failure to understand or follow rules of conversation (taking turns, staying on topic)
• Difficulty using different language for different needs of the learner or situation
• Difficulty requesting further information to aid understanding
• Incorrect use of grammar
• Poor or limited vocabulary
• Difficulty with instructions, especially those that are long or grammatically complex
• Extreme forgetfulness
• Difficulty understanding puns, idioms, jokes, riddles
Video → Aphasia in a child
Interventions/Strategies
When observing some of many of the previous symptoms in the classroom or at home, educators should consider the following approaches:
Address any speech and language learning problems in young children quickly to take advantage of the brain’s ability to rewire improper connections during this important period of growth
● Give more attention to the speech and language problems of adolescents
● Recognize that some speech and language delays are simply the result of delayed maturation and do not represent a permanent disorder
● Help secondary school teachers identify and address language weaknesses
● Accept the notion that students with language difficulties may still be able to learn a second language when taught with the appropriate instructional approaches
● Not assume that children with language learning problems are going to be limited in cognitive thought processes as well
In addition to these approaches, educators and parents may take the following strategies:
STRATEGY
Talk to the child
Talk to the child whenever you are together.
Talk about the day’s events, a book the child has read, a story the child has heard, or the traffic signs along the highway. Tell the child whatever you are doing.
• Ask the child to explain any activity you are doing at home, such as ironing, trimming bushes, or sorting laundry. Don’t settle for single-word or short answers.
• Ask the child to point out objects in the environment and name them. Describe the characteristics of an object (long, yellow, and tasty), and ask the child to name it (banana).
Read to the child
Read aloud at least 20 minutes every day while the child is sitting in your lap.
• Take turns talking about what was read.
• For a child with limited attention span, provide books with large, colorful pictures and few words.
• Ask the child to point out objects in the book as you read its name. Vary some of the phrases, such as “cat in the hat” and “cat on the mat”, to see if the child can hear the difference.
Reading books should be an interactive experience
Discuss the book’s pictures and paraphrase its story.
• Let the child make up a version of what will happen next in the story.
• If the story is familiar, allow the child to finish telling key events or to give the succeeding rhyme.
Give the child an opportunity to correct you by purposely misreading or omitting items and events.
• Have the child point out words as you read them.
• Act out the story or create a puppet show.
• Reinforce sequential reading by starting at the beginning of the page and showing the direction of written text, from left to right and top to bottom of page.
Cultivate phonological awareness with auditory and visual word games
Play rhyming games: If a child does not hear the rhyme, try a game with words that begin with the same sound.
• Play the broken record game: Say a word very slowly and break it into syllables, then have the child repeat the word at a normal speed.
• Pick a game the child enjoys, such as matching letters or copying the names of famous people.
• Have the child draw pictures and make up a story while you write it down.
Learning starts with a one-to-one match, followed by patterns and sequence
Children learn to count and learn the letters of the alphabet long before they make connections to arithmetic and reading. Use activities with the child that involve counting: “Bring me one cup and two plates. Put the napkin next to one plate.” Have the child repeat the instructions and match the items to the number you requested.
• Have the child match letters to items in the room that begin with that letter, such as l for lamp and p for pencil. Make sure the child repeats the letter and the word aloud and walks or points to the object.
• Move on to activities that involve patterns and sequence. Posters, checkers, dominoes, and playing cards are strong symbols of patterns and sequence. The child doesn’t have to learn the game to be able to identify patterns and sequences in the game pieces.
Provide a print-rich home and school environment
Children with oral language difficulties are very likely to have problems learning to read. The sooner they can make connections between oral language and the written word, the better. Other media, such as videotapes, audiotapes, and the computer, can help with the effort of learning to read by making it fun and worthwhile.
• Avoid television watching.
Tracking interventions
Utilizing various methods to record speech and language errors and mistakes will be beneficial to tracking whether specific interventions are working. Keeping a journal of spoken interactions and mistakes observed, or utilizing daily sound/verbal recordings will help compare pre-intervention and post-intervention speech and language.
Technology Tools
Various assistive technologies can be used to practice and develop a wide array of language and speech difficulties. These could include, but are not limited to the following:
TextAloud 3: This is a text to speech software that can take your word documents, emails. etc and it speaks the documents on the computer or a portable device and they also have an app for IOS.
Communication Board: This device uses pictures, symbols, or printed words for communication. these board are a flat display of words and pictures but could also be used with touch screen and speech can be added.
textHELP: This software is designed for children seven and up and is a floating toolbar that provides tools for reading, writing. the software is windows based . it reads back to the student what they wrote and spell check highlights word(s) that need to be corrected also includes built in dictionary, thesaurus and calculator
website: texthelp.com
Assistive Technology Video
References
http://www.techpotential.net/
USEFUL RESOURCES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNgNKkLwYvw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdzlTyknaH8
How the Special Needs Brain Learns, by David A. Sousa
Different Brains, Different Learners: How to Reach the Hard to Reach, by Eric P. Jensen